"We're absolutely not shopping Josh" he told USA TODAY Sports. "We're not going to shop him and we don't have any plan or intention to trade him."

"When we did the Trent Richardson trade the perception was we were throwing in the towel (so) we got calls on players" Banner said. "I guess that was a natural reaction based on how the move was perceived.

"If you're in this long enough you learn to never say anything absolute because then something comes up and you look like you lied. I personally -- and I think anybody here -- would be completely shocked if we ended up trading him. Josh is playing great. He's working his butt off."

During the week ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Browns have talked to the 49ers about trading Gordon but that a deal was unlikely.